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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24476932">Roses Blooms In The Snow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hufflepuff_Amber/pseuds/Hufflepuff_Amber'>Hufflepuff_Amber</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Glitched! AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bisexuality, Broken Promises, Feels, Feels are going to kick hard here, Fluff and Angst, I Tried, Love/Hate, Major Character Injury, Mind Manipulation, More Tags Later?, Multi, Pink need to learn hear advices, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Spoilers for Episode: s06e20 The Future, Tags Are Hard, Temporary Character Death, Violence, because why not, more gems to be discovered catch them all!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:55:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,087</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24476932</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hufflepuff_Amber/pseuds/Hufflepuff_Amber</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He needed to remember to stay calm. He couldn't let his condition win, or everybody would be in danger. But the darkeness closed around him like a infinite sea, taking out his air he even didn't need, stealing his light, making his body numb.... The pain was so agonizing... Clouding his senses, making him want to give up....<br/>No.<br/>He... He needed to resist. He... Needed to remember for who he was fighting for....</p><p> </p><p>...but... Who was that again?</p><p> </p><p> <br/>What to do when the person you love the most don't want you to love them? What to do when all your purpose is lost? What to do when you need to choose between dying or hurt your loved ones? A prisioner of his own gem, the ones with the key of his heart need to figure a way to unchain him.<br/>But little they know his time is running out...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Connie Maheswaran/Pink Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Pink Steven Universe/Steven Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Glitched! AU [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768099</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Welcome to Misty Valley</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>*awkward laughs*<br/>Ha...hahah.... well, you look at that!<br/>I... I wasn't exactly planing to make a continuation of ErR_o#r, but I recieved some requests of more Glitched! Pink and... it happened!<br/>Thanks for all the encouragement on the last story! I really apreciated it!<br/>Well, I've reading ErR_o#r again, searching things to improve on this new story, and I need to say I missed something...<br/>Le Action!<br/>So!<br/>I'll try to make this story better than my last one to improve my skills. But... if you haven't read ErR_o#r yet, I recomend you to read it before this one, otherwise you may not catch up to the plot very well.<br/>I already have a base in mind, but if you want to help with some suggestion, feel welcome to do so!<br/>I hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Noises.</p><p>He tried to ignore.</p><p>More noises.</p><p>Surely was nothing to worry about.</p><p>The car started to tremble.</p><p>Okay, maybe it <em>was </em>something to worry about.</p><p>With a loud, something-is-wrong bang, the car stopped completely.</p><p>"Great. Right in the middle of the night, in the middle of a forest, in the middle of a hill. Just great." Steven huffed, placing his forehead on the steering wheel with frustration. It was a very disastrous start of his trip, not a good way to relieve the stress he had been feeling on the past months since Spinel's attack.</p><p>"Better check what happened." A voice said on his mind, it's calm tone making him cool off a bit. Opening carefully the door and using his cellphone's lantern to see in the dark, he saw the root of the problem.</p><p>Literaly.</p><p>A large twig had managed to get stuck on the front whell. He could have fixed it if he was on his home, but he forgot completely of take tolls with him.</p><p>"Frick! I'm so stupid!" He groaned, his face between his hands.</p><p>"Don't put the blame on yourself. Maybe there's humans near that can help us. Just don't lose hope." The voice talked again, warming him like a blanket on a cold night. It could be a good idea.</p><p>Luckly, it didn't have only humans, but a entire town on that hill. And towns usually have tools.</p><p><strike>They</strike> He started to explore around. It was a small city, but had it's charm, just like Beach City. A fair amount of fog laid on the floor like a cloudy mat. The buildings were charming as well, built with an interesting old-fashioned way. For not having much lights like on a bigger city, the view of the stars above was astouning. Trees and their mantle of sunset-colored leafs rulled on the landscape. The view of such picturesque place even made up for the only mechanic shop there was closed.</p><p>"I guess I should wait until morning..." He said, now searching for a place he could stay the night.</p><p>Suddenly, he felt a weird presence... he wasn't... he wasn't alone...</p><p>"Are you lost, young traveller? " Said a voice behind him.</p><p>He immediatelly screamed and turned around, only to see that it was nothing to be afraid of. It was a tiny, roundy man with a suit that seemed a cheap costume of a ghost-train rider that definitely was too small for him.</p><p>"Welcome to Misty Valey! I am the mayor, Mr.Backerell! 'What the mayor is doing walking in the streets at 12pm, you wonder? Easy! I sleep only one hour at day! But I wouldn't recomend a newcomer like you to walk around so late. This, my deary friend, is the most haunted city in all this region! You never know what you can see here, monsters, aliens... Did you know that the first picture of Big Foot was taken here? You may not come out of here alive..." Said the man, without any break to breath, looking like he had drank ten galons of energetic plus three sacks of sugar.</p><p>"Uh, okay..." Steven said, a little awkwardly, starting to regret the decision of search a housing there. The last place he wanted to be was on a ghost-town. He hated horror movies! "I... I was searching for a place to stay the night..."</p><p>The mayor's smile decreased a bit. "Oh, I'm sorry, Young One, but all the hotels are full, something to expect of a turistc city in the eve of such a important date..."</p><p>Oh, so it was a turist-trap, not a ghost-town.</p><p>"Wich date?"</p><p>"You really don't know? Tomorow is the All Saint Festival! All the city will celebrate Halloween on a big party! And you're super-duper invited! But... I recomend you to use a costume, the citizens take this festival <em>very </em>seriously... Well, I hope you find a good place to rest your curly-haired precious head, my friend! I would invite you to stay with me, but my family is on my house and believe me, my mother-in-law can be more scary than all the supernatural beings of this town! Well, I see you later, trepasseger! Here goes the mayor!" The tiny man said, giving a backflip and dissapearing on the night. But then his head poked out of a alley. "Oh, and if you stay in the woods, beware with the beasts of the Forbiten Cave! That's it, if the ghosts don't get you first!" He warned, dissapearing again.</p><p>Steven didn't have sure if he was being serious or keeping on the role.</p>
<hr/><p>He decided to camp in the woods that night, and think on what to do next by the morning.</p><p>When he was about to take the tent out of the car, his gem started to glow. A soft, warm clarity that only got stronger and stronger, until the stone came out of his body with no pain at all. He observed the rock dance in the air before it formed a perfect replica of him, except that it seemed like a pink human-sized night-light.</p><p>"You need to stop doing this." Steven said, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the shinning apparition. Much for Steven's dismay, ever since they had joined after the "incident", Pink had un-fused frequently, every time claiming that he wanted to make company or help the human with some chore. And this time was no different.</p><p>"Rest on the car while I do this." He said, taking the tent out of the boy's hands. "You've driving all night long."</p><p>"Pink..." He tried to sound grumpy, because he really didn't like when the Diamond did such thing thinking only on his (Steven's) sake. The gem, however, knew exactly how to gentle him, embracing him sweetly and kissing his sensitive neck. "You're not going to seduce your way out of it...!" The human squealed, but Pink knew he was about to break. As soon as the kisses turned into nibs and licks he raised the white flag." Okay, okay, you won!" He huffed, still trying to sound unpleased, what was a big lie.</p><p>Steven let Pink lay him on the backseats of the car to rest while the gem prepared stuff for that night. After having sure the human was cozy and warm, the gem got to work. It was easy-peasy for him, as he mounted on a impressive velocity. But, by the tme he finished, Steven was already fast asleep. Pink sighed at the sight, picking him up and taking him inside the tend, carefull to don't wake him up. He laid the sleeping boy on his lap, where he could observe his adorable sleep all night. </p><p>But not everything was perfect...</p><p>It started subtle, as it always did. Then it grew stronger.... so strong that the pain was almost unbearable... and after some minutes it final stopped.</p><p>"I thought I was past this." He said as the last glitch faded away, making him wonder when would the glitches start again. It was impossible to get used to such pain. Thanks the skies, he managed to hide it from Steven all the times it happened, so he wouldn't need to worry. "I'll... I'll figure a way out soon." He reassured himself, playing with Steven's locks to calm down, trying to ignore something that the human had said to him and since then didn't let go of his head...</p><p>
  <em>You're broken, Pink.</em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The beginning may be a little slow, but it'll get better, I swear!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Cat Burglar</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is a suggestion from Longlostaa16, thank you!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There's where the Undertale refference kicks in- on my last story I made a silly draw of Steven and Pink dressed like Frisk and Chara, so.... Heheh....</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Stev- cough, cough, I don't think I need that much-!" Pink coughed, trying to take Steven's hand (and the makeup) away from him.</p><p>"It was you who insisted to go with me on the festival!" The boy said, trying to aply more powder to make the gem's cheeks even pinkier. "Don't you think the city folks will think it's weird that I suddenly have a pink glowing twin?"</p><p>"It was you who insisted to stay even after the wheel got fixed!"</p><p>"But the mayor said we were super-duper invited! I couldn't let him down!"</p><p>Pink huffed as he fixed his green-yellow stripped sweater and helped the other with his blue-purple one. He wanted to say something about how Steven alway got the right clothes to the right ocasions but managed to forget the tools of the car (they had bought a new kit with the local mechanic), but he didn't want to upset him when he looked like was having so much fun.</p><p>"Hey, want me to get my costume more real? I can do that creepy face if you want, see? " He said, making his eyes dark, crying and drooling a black substance. </p><p>"Please, not." Steven said, and Pink stopped immediately. " I don't need you to give nightmares to anyone."</p><p>"This is a haunted city, isn't it?" Pink sruggered. "If half of what that mayor had said is truth, a pink boy isn't nothing at all."</p>
<hr/><p>Pink turned out to be right.</p><p>When the citizens saw them separated, they didn't strange it. It was almost like it it was normal for them.</p><p>Almost like... They had seen gems before...</p><p>Other than that, the festival was very beautifull. Jack-o-lanterns garnished the streets and lights were suspended in the trees and houses. Shows, dances and artists filled the streets, atrackting all sorts of people to watch. The citizens really took Halloween seriously.</p><p>But of course problem didn't took long to show up.</p><p>Pink tried the best he could to keep an eye on Steven, but he couldn't do so with all that mess. Before he could tell, he was lost.</p><p>He tried to keep calm. It... It was okay, wasn't it? All he needed to do was to stay calm and find him again. It was easy!</p><p>But... What if he never found him? What if something bad had hapened? A kidnaper? A... Murderer? What if the monsters the mayor had talked about were true? What if the next time he found Steven he would be a bleeding, lifeless body on the ground...</p><p>The glitches started again. He couldn't think straight. Worry was clouding his mind. No... Steven wouldn't last long if they weren't together... He needed to find him! <strong>NOW!!</strong></p><p>He started runnin, trying to keep the glitches under control, but it was so many people, so many noises, so loud, and the pain was so nauseating... Everything he saw was a blur...</p><p>Until he saw claws.</p>
<hr/><p>"Pink? Are you over there?" Steven called over the sea of people. He was starting to get worried, but he could only hope that his counterpart was okay.</p><p>Then, far, far away from where he was, he saw.</p><p>Smoke.</p><p><em>Pink </em>smoke.</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>Pink smoke with the shape of a rose.</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>He was speechless, running numbly to get a better look.</p><p>Someone... Someone dressed in rags and with a weird cat mask was paralyzed there, with a confused, scared expression, while the crowd around was clapping, aparently thinking what they did was some magical trick.</p><p>But he didn't cared to any of that. What he cared was the diamond in the hands of the person.</p><p>"Give that back!" He shout, starting to chase the thielf, who gave a very high-pitched shriek.</p><p>"Fuck this shit I'm out!" The mysterious person ran to out of the party, out of the city, into the woods, with the young hero hot on their tail... Until he fell.</p><p>He was weak. Too weak. If he did't got the diamond back soon, he would be nothing...</p><p>But his main worry at the moment was  Pink... That human probably thought they got a mere diamond that is used to jewels, without even dreaming about it's real value... What if they sold him away? What if he formed and they put him on some kind of freak show? What if they got scared and... And sh...</p><p>He couldn't stand anymore. He couldn't move. His heart ached. His lungs burned. His bones felt like jelly. All he could do was cry lowly in pain and grief until he fainted...</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Light footsteps sounded on the silence. The burglar moved carefully as twigs crashed under their heels.</p><p>They looked closely to the uncouncious creature. He didn't seem much of a threat.</p><p>With little effort, the burglar laid the boy on their backs and, with the diamond safe on their dusty pocket, they headed out of there.</p><p>To the Forbiten Cave.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Now things are starting to get good!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Catty & Goldie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, I'm going to use my OC Catty, but her story is a bit different, and I also included other of my babies, but just because I didn't want de bois to get lonely :,(<br/>They're just for the story keep going....</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>(A/N) yea... Sorry gurls...</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Steven felt that his body was laid on a soft surface, but everything in front of him was darkness. Only soft, distant sounds indicated that he wasn't alone. Without Pink, half of his senses faded away. He felt difficult to keep breathing, he could feel his heartbeats getting slower... It was it... it has been too long... he... he wouldn't resist...</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>No.</p><p>He needed to keep fighting. He needed to keep alive. For everything he believed. For everybody he loved and loved him.</p><p>For Pink.</p><p>He wouldn't leave him alone.</p><p>His eyelids trembled as he forced them open, on a slow, inconstant motion until he final met light and... Wait what was him seeing?</p><p>It was two... two gems?! He had never seeing any gem like them before... </p><p>He reconigzed one of them as the burglar from before, and looking closer he realized that she wasn't using any mask, her features... it really looked like a cat. Her sunset colored short hair had two "cat ears" and a long strand that looked like a tail. The rags had been replaced by a black uniform, and her eyes were so weird... light pink with glowing white slit pupils. On her neck, was her gem. A oval, small purplish-pink with a light line that moved acording to wich angle you looked.</p><p>The other was a bit smaller, blue-skinned and using a dress on cold shades, wich side seemed to have a different style, one being longer with a puffy sleeve, and other shorter with a simple sleeve. Her arms started him a bit. It looked like was made of liquid gold, like something that tried to form but not being complete. Her hair was luxurious and curly, and it looked just like her gem. On her left eye, a perfectly circular stone that imitated a starry night sky, and... it seemed to be oozing a weird golden liquid...</p><p>The surroundings were a apparently normal living room, except for the fact it was on a cave. There was a bit dark, but floating lights lit up enough to let him see. There was a lot of videogame consoles and games, and the ambient was in general decorated in a geek-ish way, and he saw he was laind on a soft sofa. And, in the top with the light was... bubbled gems?!</p><p>"He woke up!" The blue gem chirped with a joyfull expression. The cat-girl just kept looking at him with crossed arms.</p><p>He had so many questions... Where was him? Who were them? What they was going to do with him? WHY THERE WAS BUBBLED GEMS THERE?! But all that came to his mind at this moment was...</p><p>"What did you do with Pink?" He asked, barely having forces to do so.</p><p>"You mean... her?" The cat-girl lifted her hand, showing one bubbled gem that made his blood run cold like no other. Trapped on the fuchsia bubble, there was no way the diamond could reform.</p><p>"G-give me!" He whined, trying to reach the buble, but the cat-girl held it on a distance he was to weak to reach. Seeing his objective so close, but unable to take it, made him wept a bit.</p><p>"Hey, don't be mean!" The blue one said, trying to take the buble from the other. "You know who he is?! You're in front of Steven Universe!"</p><p>Okay... the bluey knew who he was...?</p><p>"Right, and I'm White Diamond." The cat-girl said in disbelief.</p><p>"N-no, She's right! It's really me!" The boy tried, but he wasn't sucessfull.</p><p>"Really? Is you're really the great saviour of gemkind and not only a dirty faker thielf, then prove it." She crossed her arms again, still holding the bubble firmly.</p><p>"I... I can prove! Look! My cellphone... I have photos that can prove my word!" He said, taking the device from his pocket and showing them. There was phots with the Crystal Gems, With the Diamonds, and even of his past adventures. The blue one pointed at a especific one.</p><p>"Hey, this is from when you defeated that cursed mascot with your clothes! See, Catty! He can beat monsters even naked!"</p><p>Steven blushed deep red at the memory, know with self-consiousness enough to see that what he did wasn't only embarrasing, but a crime (even if it was out of innocence). "I don't even know why did I keep this cursed image..." He groaned, deleting the said photo. "But how did you..."</p><p>"Right! We didn't presented yet!" The blue one beated her fist on her palm. "I'm Blue Goldstone, your greatest fan! And this... this is Cat's Eye Rubellite, she's grumpy, but is a good person deep down!" </p><p>"Right... nice to meet you... but it doesn't answer my question..."</p><p>The cat-girl rolled her eyes. "Goldstones haves powers like sapphires, but instead of seeing the future, they can see the present of an especific gem, don't matter how far they are, as long as they had seen said gem before. They... are very rare... because homeworld didn't made many... they came a bit... deffective... actually, Yellow's dissapeared a long ago..." She said, trying to don't offend her friend, who was smiling dumbly. "And... I was... Spinel's replacement... when the Diamonds realized she was missing, they gave me to her... but ...I... found something that I had sure I would be put down for... Y-you know... Pink Diamond's secret... Actually, that's the reason both of us ran away to earth... If they knew we knew... For some time, we lived here in peace, of course, hiding from other gems, but then... A light. Some... Some kind of light... Me and Goldie managed to hide on this cave, but all the others... They turned into... Something hideous." She shivered at the memory.</p><p>"Corrupted?" He asked with concern. He thought all the gems were saved...!</p><p>She nooded silently. "Thousand of years later, humans made a village here. We thought the monsters would attack them, but... For some reason, the humans didn't showed fear, in fact, they seemed amazed by the newfound creatures... I guess the corrupted liked the fame, because they never attacked a human, but other gems... The warp and comunicators are broken, and there's no way to comunicate to Homeworld. Until, however, Goldie start rambling about some "Steven" that someday would find this nowhere city and save us or whatever."</p><p>"You will, right? Right?!" Goldie asked, hoping in the same place like a kangaroo.</p><p>"Of course! I brought some diamond essences just in case... I just need to take my car and..."</p><p>"Actually..." Catty rubbed the back of her neck, a little embarassed. "I... Brought your car and stuff here... I thought I could keep it after we cut your throat for trying to steal a Diamond..."</p><p>This wasn't something pleasant to hear.</p><p>"Anyway, the gems are all over the map, so we'll go to the first concentration area by morning."</p><p>"What?" Goldie asked, seeming dissapointed. "B-but why not now?"</p><p>"Just take a look at him! He looks like one of the walking dead! Besides, he still have to fuse with his buddy." She said, finally handing the desired bubble to him. " Before you pop it, promise that neither me or Goldie will be shattered for betrayal. We were only doing what we could to survive." She said, seriously, and he nooded. "Good. I'll take your stuff to the guest room so you can take a nap. I'll take one myself." She yawned, and Goldie mumbled something about "lazy cat".</p><p>"And you said a guest room was a bad idea!" The blue gem said, following her friend to the deeps of the cave.</p><p>Steven waste no time, quickly popping the bubble and letting the diamond's light bathe him. When Pink reformed, the only thing he could do was hug the gem in relief. It didn't take one second before he got a reply and they fused into one again. Now was better to rest if he was going to face corrupteds at the morning.</p><p>He didn't thought he would get involved on another gem problem so soon.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know, I know... This seems like a filler BUT the next chaptter will have some good action, trust me! Just don't give up on me yet!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Love You Hate You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>NOW the real drama starts! *Evil Laugh*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Next day, the three gems headed out to a place the citizens used to camp in. Goldie barely fit on herself in such excitment, and even Catty seemed been looking foward for what was about to come. Steven, however, just wanted to get over it quickly -know that there was more gems out there who were suffering threw daggers on his heart. He needed to save them!</p><p>"Hey, you know?" Catty said, wanting to start a conversation, since it was too quiet and it was creeping everybody out. "When Goldie talked about you... I thought you were... you know... smaller. "As trying to prove her word, she shapeshifted to a Classic-Steven form, but still using her clothes.</p><p>It brought Cat-Steven to a whole new level.</p><p>"No, no. Like this!" Goldie shapeshifted as well, but using his clothes, what was a more reliable impression, except that it was blue and with a gem on his eye.</p><p>"Oh, right." Catty changed her clothes to his usual attire, but the cat features were still there.</p><p>The boy, altrough just wanting to make his job quickly, couldn't help a smile. It was dumb silly things like that he forgot to enjoy after growing up. Things that would let him amazed as a child suddenly became gray with the problems he faced. Depression, PTSD, autophobia, anxiety... he was healing slowly, but the scars still hurted. He needed to remember that the little happy boy he had been someday was still there.</p><p>"Right, so, that's the place?" He asked, on a certain part of the woods. The light of the morning passed lazyly through the tall, old trees. Autumn leafs falled to the ground, letting more space for the light peek in.</p><p>"Yep. That's the place." Catty said, leaning on him. "A place so far from the city that no one will hear you scream..." She made a menacing voice before bursting into laughter.</p><p>"Not funny." He groaned, trying to hide the fact he was slightly scared. "Then... we search them, or we wait them to come at us?"</p><p>"They come at us." Said Goldie, summoning her weapon (a long staff with stars in the end), while Catty used her gem to bend light to form a great, monstruous light cat, it's ghostly-like torso floating right above her and it's paws doing everything her hands did. "They come when they smell the scent of other gems. And, as a Diamond, your scent is <em>very </em>strong. So.. they must be here in three... two.. o-" A loud roar was heard. "-ne."</p><p>As if waiting their cue, a dozen of corrupted gems jumped to their attack. At first sight, he could recognize some Quartz and Agates, and he though he even saw a lapis lazuli too. Decided to do it causing the least pain he could, he got into battle stance.</p><p>Goldie spinned her staff and hit a Quartz right in the middle of a jump, and then hit a Sodalite on her landing. Quickly, she put them on bubbles and send them to their cave. Catty was fighting against the corrupted Lapis, that seemed a cross of a mermaid and a vulture. The creature tried to encase her in water... what only let her pissed."I hate forced baths!" She hissed, making her light "puppet" slice the water bender like it was made of butter. Only for a moment, the water-light combination resulted in a explosion of colors.</p><p>Steven tried to send his shield on a armadilo-like beast, but, as you would expect, the metal armor of that Hematite defflected his attempt, making the shield dissapear in the air. The monster cowered until it took the shape of a ball, and, just like a Quartz, it rolled with a scary velocity, and it would turn the boy into a gem-pancake if he hadn't made a barrier to protect himself. At the heat of that inflamed shield vs shield battle with no winners, he didn't saw a Selenite, that seemed a creature made of broken glass and ice, raise it's sharp, razor claws at him. When he finaly noticed, it was too late, and the monster was just about to turn him into minced meat, when...</p><p>Light.</p><p>Numbness.</p><p>And... a sound... a sound he only heard once, but he recognized too well...</p><p>He opened his eyes, groaning a bit for the pain caused when he hit the ground, and for the smoke that entered on his lungs. And then, the scene hit him.</p><p>Pink had unfused from him, and... he was... he was holding... s-shards...</p><p>It could only mean....</p><p>"Y-you... shattered her." He said in utter shock, not wanting to believe in what he just witnessed. It... it couldn't be...</p><p>Pink looked at him, seeming just as horrified. "It wasn't my intention... it... it was going to hurt you..."</p><p>Part of Steven believed in him. Believed that he had a good heart...</p><p>But the part that was dominating now just didn't want to listen.</p><p>"Keep your excuses!" He shout, getting into his feet and don't even bothering to take the dirt out of his clothes. "You KILLED a gem! The same species as you! We could have take care of it together, but NO! You just <em>had </em>to do it on your way! You know that using your raw power is dangerous and hard to control! And yes, we CAN fix it, but it still don't erase what you did!" He continued yelling, his voice so loud that could be heard even with the armadilo-Hematite beating against the barrier the Diamond had sumoned.</p><p>"I... I-I... IIII!I!!~!I!1-111I!_I1!!I " Pink started to tremble, his voice not coming out as it should, like it had some computer virus. The stress, the shock, the cold, freezing panic of have comited such crime made him lose completly the control he had over his condition. The glitches started once again, the pain harder and more torturing as nothing he had ever felt coursing his body. But it still didn't hurted as much as the terrified, betrayied expression the human was wearing now.</p><p>"And... and in top of that... you're still glitching?! W-why didn't you told me?!" Steven exclaimed, warm tears starting to cross his face, the bitter taste of a betrayal feeling invading his mouth.</p><p>"I dIdN't wANt tO w-wORry YoU!" Pink managed to say over his glitches, the guilt suffocating him like a tight rope on his neck.</p><p>"YOU KNOW I HATE WHEN YOU PUT ME OVER YOUR WELL-BEING! WHY, JUST WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING IT?!"</p><p>"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" The Diamond yelled, this phrase being the only one he could say clearly. But the human hasn't going for that. The amount of terrible, poisoning feelings clouded his mind and made him say the unthinkable.</p><p>"IF THAT'S THE WAY YOU LOVE, THEN IT WOULD BE BETTER IF YOU <strong>HATED ME</strong>!" He yelled with all the force of his lungs, but regreted in the moment it came out of his mouth. "N-no... I... I didn't meant that..."</p><p>Pink only stood paralysed, the words cuting through him like the sharpest of the swords. The pain... it was so, so overwhelming, so terrible... if he caused that type of suffering to the human... he didn't deserve to stay close to him. He didn't even deserve to <em>exist </em>in the same universe than him. "I-i wAnT tO d-di-die...I wAnt TO dIE.... I W_WANT T-TO D_DIE!!!" He kept shouting, as if some fairy goodmother would listen and make his wish come true. He didn't had any more reason to keep living, and if he wasn't Steven's source of life he would have destroyed himself much earlier.</p><p>The boy tried to say something, but Pink's distress had made the barrier fade and the armadilo come to it's veagence, knocking the Diamond off like he was nothing. He was throw away, beat his head on a rock and lost his conciousness, the glitches persisting in torment his body even on the letargic state.</p><p>"PINK!!!" Steven shouted, running to the fainted gem and taking him on his arms, despeairly trying to wake him up, to no avail. " P-please, please don't die... I forgive you, it's all okay! Please, Pink, I don't want you to go! You need to get up!" He screamed, tears running wild while he cried on the gem's chest. "G-Get up, you idiot..." He looked over to the monster, knowing what it wanted. "End me instead." He soobed.</p><p>The armadilo, taking advantage of their weakened state, was about to aply it's final blow when it started to... float?</p><p>"Uh uh uh. Don't you have any manners? You don't just ignore when a comedian is performing!" Said a four-armed, whitish-blue glowing giant woman. Half of her hair was very long and curly, and the other half was pretty short. Two arms looked a bit with paws, and the other two seemed liquid white gold. One eye was a glowing gem and the other was divided between a slitted and a normal pupil. She was holding a long scepter, one end with a moon and the other with a cat head.</p><p>Fusion.</p><p>"Well well, looks like the good ol' Cat's Eye Moonstone's gravity powers just made you <em>groundless." </em>She said. The monster managed to get free and ran to her like a mad bull. "Hm, though crowd. Seems it will be <em>hard </em>to get some laughs out of you. Or are you trying to <em>steel</em> my show?" She continued, on a dodge-pun continuous flow that would let Sans-the-Skeleton proud. "Better, maybe a knock-knock joke it's more your style?" She said, raising the scepter. The cat head let out a mew that made the monster float again. "I know a very good one. <strong>KNOCK-KNOCK."</strong> She said, literaly knocking the corrupted twice on the ground, making it dissapear. The area was clear. Apparently, C.E.M managed to poof all of the others while the boys were arguing.</p><p>While she recoiled the stone, Steven turned again to his other half. " C'mon, Pink... you can wake up now... it's all over already..." He pleed, shaking the other's shoulder softly.</p><p>Pink slowly opened his eyes, being greeted by Steven's smile and eyes full of tears.</p><p>The boy immediately went to hug his half. "I'm so glad you're o-"</p><p>"<em>Don't touch me." </em>The diamond said, pushing him away, on a expression that was beyond neutral. It was... cold. He got up, putting the selenite's shards on his pocket, and walked in the direction of the Forbiten Cave, not even stopping to help the human to get up.</p><p>"P-Pink, what's wrong?" He asked, surprised with the other's behaviour. The gem stopped, and looked back just slightly.</p><p>"It was what you wanted, wasn't it." He asked, and for the briefest the moments, the boy could see tears through his glitches before it changed back to pure coldness and he turned back to his way.</p><p>Steven only stood there, feeling his heart heavy, even the trees arround seemed to be judging him silently.</p><p>"Ahm, about it being all over..." C.E.M aproached from him, apparently not knowing how to read the situation. "Actually haves still a hella lot of corrupteds in the loose, so..."</p><p>He groaned, falling backwards, wishing the ground could swallow him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Ice Age</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry being so short, today I went to the hellish woman nightmare called "period", and I was in too much pain to write...<br/>Anyway!<br/>Look, I was thinking... This story isn't having as positive results as ErR_o#r... Don't get me wrong, I'm super gratefull for the ones who read and liked, but I feel like I'm doing something wrong, because there's no much people reading, and I can't understand what the last story had that this one don't. I just want to do the best I can to make people happy, to help on such a such dificult moment. So, if there's something I could improve, you can tell me (except haters).<br/>Thanks for your attention!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Wait, wait, let me see if I got it right." Connie's image on his cellphone rubbed her temples. "First, Pink loved you to a insane level, and now he hate you?"</p><p>"Yeah..." Steven sighed, laid in one of the two beds in the guest room. To a cave-house made by two almost-lunatic gems, it seemed to fit pretty well a human's necessities, as the room had everything a normal room would have. Beds, a wardrobe, a nightstand for each bed. It even had a window! Actually, looking at the room, you wouldn't even <em>think</em> it was a cave, since the creamy-yellow walls were so smooth it seemed like actual bricks, not a rocky surface. He would even say they had predicted they would get a human under their ceiling, but then again, they weren't Sapphires. Maybe it was Goldie's fan-girliness' doing. Speaking of the indigo-demon, he discovered that she Always wanted to cook human food, and now was using him as a subject. The deal was that the only recipe book she had was to make Halloween-tematic meals, so Catty had to assure him he was eating brown-collored spaguetti, not actual worms. Changing to the cat, apparently all the videogames were her's, and she was pratically a professional. One of her powers was to interfere in entreteriment stuff, as her base directive was to bring fun. She could make draws move, talk with cartoons and movies and even change a game ending, like making a bunch of animatronic-ghost-kids come back to normal or bringing Asriel and Chara back to life. Or just throw Eggman in the lava several times. </p><p>The gems of the fight were already cured and the Selenite got fixed, thanks to the (four galons of) Diamond essence -that the cat-girl even chocked and said their house would get cramped by corrupted with such strong scent- he had brought. After a quick explanation to the confused ex-monsters, they send them by the just-fixed warp to Little Homeworld, so the CG (He had talked to them earlier) could guide them through Era Three. He had talked to them and his dad frequently, but he still didn't had the heart to tell about Pink.</p><p>But Connie, as always, just kicked the truth out of him.</p><p>Not litteraly, of course. She would never kick him.</p><p>"He has given me the cold shoulder the last three days. I shouldn't get angry with him that way...."</p><p>"But he would't hate you just for that..."</p><p>"Well... I also scolded him..."</p><p>"Uh?"</p><p>"And yelled at him..."</p><p>"Wait-"</p><p>"And I may or may not had said that I'd rather if he hated me..."</p><p>
  <em>"Steven!"</em>
</p><p>Okay, maybe she <em>would </em>kick him.</p><p>"And..." He really didn't know how to say that. "He's... he's glitching again."</p><p>"SAID WHAT?!</p><p>And now she wanted to kick Pink too.</p><p>"How?!" She asked, terrified. "Why? has his gem broke again?"</p><p>"No! I-I don't know what happened! His body was doing some weird magical mambo-jambo, maybe that's beacuse he went Hate-Mode, and he simply hide it from me for <em>four months!</em> So yes, I was angry at him, but just because I was worried! And now he barely stay at the same room as me!" He laid his free hand on his forehead in distress, once again on that same situation of his childrenhood, where he didn't knew what to do and felt that everything he did only made him fall deeper on the abyssm.</p><p>Connie smiled warmly at him, that one smile that was like one thousand encouraging words, without she even have to open her mouth. That smile that never failed in being his anchor when he was lost in a sea of despair. Just to look at it made his heart get warm. "Hey, don't torture yourself because of it. I know you're find a way to fix it. You always do!"</p><p>"I know, but-"</p><p>"Is that Connie?"</p><p>He looked up and felt the room getting 9999 times chiller.</p><p>Pink was staring blankly at him, on that cold treatment he had been given the boy ever since their argement. " I want to talk to her."</p><p>"Oh, s-sure." He said, getting up immediately and giving the phone the fastest he could, even stumbling on the way. "There you g-"</p><p>Pink smacked the door on his face.</p><p>Feeling broken-hearted, he plopped back on the bed.Geez, he had screwed up big time. He needed to make it up for Pink, but how?</p><p>He heard a soft laugh outside. The girl must have said something to make the defective gem laugh. Well, at least she made him happy. It was the least he could ask, even if wasn't with him.</p><p>Then someone entered on the room.</p><p>Catty observed him attently, and as far he knew about humans, he was "Down to the dumps."</p><p>She hummed. Goldie wouldn't like to see "the amazing saviour of galaxy" sinking on the bed like a useless trash. It was <em>her</em> job!</p><p>A idea crossed her mind. </p><p>"Hey, I was testing a stand up for the next time we go Moonstone, I guess I could pratice with you?"</p><p>He looked at her. "Oh, so you are the joker of the duo?"</p><p>She nooded, her hands on her waist. "Yup! ever since I played the game with the skeleton who plays trombone. Ready?" He lifted a thumb up. "Uh, okay. Well, I can't believe I'm doing it. It's so much easier to do nothing. I mean, really, I would rather so much to stay on my bed, eat lasagna and complain about mondays." He huffed a bit by the nose, a smile threatening to appear on his mouth. "I would test on Goldie, but after too much puns she start stomping her feet on the ground, eating spaguetti and chasing humans. And maybe letting out some Nye hehehs!" He tried to hold the laughs. "You know, I'm not feeling very <strong>cathletic </strong>these days. Maybe I've having too much <strong>micecream.</strong> I mean, I used to be able to wrap my leg around my body twice. Not I only can wrap one and a half!" Then he started laughing openly. " Dude, are you <strong>feline</strong> alright? Did the puns <strong>cat</strong>-ch you bad? As I was saying, it is bad that gems don't change their appearence like humans, imagine having <em>this </em>face for thousands years! I see agathes and quartz and everybody goes; Wow, they're so powerfull!" and then they look at me and say "Hey, girly, are you going to some anime-con?" and I go like "Are you <strong>kitten</strong> me?" And then he started to howl in laughs.</p><p>She needed to stop when he started to tear his eyes out and shout that he would pee on his pants.</p><hr/><p>Pink was sitting on a tree, looking at the stars. He was feeling so weird. He was normal at other matters, at other people. But... he couldn't feel nothin for Steven.</p><p>And at the same time, he <em>did.</em></p><p>He couldn't demonstrate. And he knew it hurted the human. But he couldn't do anything. Was like he was a prisioner of his own body. But yet, if Steven wanted him to leave him alone...</p><p>The glitches started again. It hurted, but he kept on his star-gazing. He felt so empty, and even after all that, he couldn't stop blaming himself, think that he was the blamed for the human be so angry at him...</p><p>As it was common to the duo, the passeger sulution for his sadness was... a song.</p><p>Except,he wasn't in the mood of composing anything, so he just started huming a song of Owl City they used to hear when they were depressed.</p><p>
  <em>I’m tired of waking up in tears<br/>‘Cause I can’t put to bed these phobias and fears<br/>I’m new to this grief I can’t explain<br/>But I’m no stranger to the heartache and the pain<br/>The fire I began is burning me alive<br/>But I know better than to leave and let it die<br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m a silhouette<br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em>Asking every now and then</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Is it over yet?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Will I ever feel again?<br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em>I</em>
  <em>’m a silhouette<br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em>Chasing rainbows on my own<br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em>But the more I try to move on<br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em>The more I feel alone</em>
</p><p>
  <em>So I’ll watch the summer stars to lead me home<br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m sick of the past I can’t erase<br/>A jumble of footprints and hasty steps I can’t retrace<br/>The mountain of things I still regret<br/>I s a vile reminder that I would rather just forget<br/>(No matter where I go)<br/>The fire I began is burning me alive<br/>But I know better than to leave and let it die</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m a silhouette</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Asking every now and then</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Is it over yet?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Will I ever smile again?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I’m a silhouette</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Chasing rainbows on my own</em>
  <br/>
  <em>But the more I try to move on</em>
  <br/>
  <em>The more I feel alone</em>
  <br/>
  <em>So I’ll watch the summer stars to lead me home</em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <em>I’m a silhouette</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Asking every now and then</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Is it over yet?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Will I ever love again?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m a silhouette</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Chasing rainbows on my own</em>
  <br/>
  <em>But the more I try to move on</em>
  <br/>
  <em>The more I feel alone</em>
  <br/>
  <em>So I’ll watch the summer stars to lead me home</em>
</p><p>Little he know, back on the cave, his human was singing the same song, looking at the same stars, feeling the same pain.</p><p>
  <em>So I’ll watch the summer stars to lead me home.</em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorryyyyyyy this song is one of my favorites!!! It's not the first time I use it, but Pink forced me! (Pink: Wrong.)<br/>Anyways, it's better prepare some tissues, the next chapter will be REALLY intense.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Beware With The Thorns</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>IMPORTANT WARNING!!!!!!!! PLEASE DON'T SKIP!!!!!<br/>So guys.... what I have to say isn't very good news...<br/>I've been very stressed lately. The ones who accompained ErR_o#r heard me complaining about migraines, it it didn't got any better. I've trying to drown the stress with writing but I only managed to turn something that was suposted to be for fun into another reason to get stressed. So, I'll use the vacations as a break to myself for emotional reasons. This will be the last chapter before the break, then I'll come back on, dunno, September or October. Don't worry, I'll finish it! I'll write it slowly, and maybe fix some stuff on the previous chapters, so I'll have plently of time to do the best I can without worrying about post before my head explodes in pain. So, I ask you to forgive me for any disapointment and that you don't forget this story. I'll be back before you even realize it!<br/>And! I'll left something "special" to hold ya interest until then.....</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"There you go- it's that all, Mr. Diamond? " Asked Amber, a ex-corrupted that was helping them to send the others to Little Homeworld. In place of her previous form, a fox-like monster, that seemed to be made of golden-orange trasparent goo and used her resin-made tail to knock Catty on the trees, she was now using a cute mail-uniform and a cap in top of her short hair, not blocking the view of the gem on her forehead.</p><p>"Yes, but could you order more diamond essence and more brochures too?" The glowing boy asked, trying to think on any other task he had forgoten.</p><p>"Of course! And, about the ex-corrupted, I have a question. "She bit the eraser in the top of her already-chewed pencil. "Some of them have complained about their new horns and stuff, so... should I take them to Yellow Diamond to fix their forms, or make them complete their lessons on Little Homeschool first? </p><p>"You don't need to ask my permission, Amber, I leave it up to you." He said gently, but she twisted her nose.</p><p>"A terrible decision, really."</p><p>He sighed. She could be friendly, but traces like her forgetfullness, her constant questions and mainly her indecision was getting him on his nerves. The little stress was enough to cause him another glitch, a short, but still painfull. He looked at her and almost sighed in relief to see that she was too busy looking at her clipboard to notice anything. "Um, take them to Yellow first. They will be more focused on their lessons if their asks get attended to.</p><p>"Alrighty then." She wrote a note on her clipboard before using her resin extension to deliver his mail, then it curled back around her neck like a scarf. Waving to him, she got back on the warp.  Then she said someting that almost made his eyes pop out. "One more thing... should I tell the others about your glitching form, Mr. Diamond?"</p>
<hr/><p>"Hmmm.... Hmmmmm.... Hmmmmmmmm......."</p><p>"Ca-ham." Pink cleared his throat, to let clear to Goldie that he knew she was observing him.</p><p>She lifted from behind the couch like a meerkat in aware for a snake. "Oh, sorry." The indigo gem walked over to sit with him, still looking at the Diamond with admiration like it was the first time. "Sooooooo.... I have noticed..."</p><p>"Mmm?" He lifted his glance from 'Spooky and Sassy: A Mayor's Biography" that he had got from the local's library.</p><p>"Your form... it's seems to not be on the best shape- wait-!" She gasped after notice what she did.</p><p>"Good one, pal, that was <em>Gold!</em>" Catty laughed from the door's frame, smirking like a cat who caught the canary, before closing the door of her room, that was filled with scrach-posts and soft warm things to lay on.</p><p>"Get your stupid puns out of my head!" She shouted, then turned her attention back to him. "A-anyway..."</p><p>"You've seen me glitching." He said, not changing his expression. </p><p>"Y-yeah... Could I... look it for you? I could try to see what's wrong?"</p><p>"You can?"</p><p>"I do! I know one thing or two about defective forms, like this!" She pointed at her arms, that looked like made of mercury, and her gold-oozing gem. "During the goldstones' creation, ocured a 'leak'. It interfered on our personalities and forms. Like me, I was suposted to be all serious and diplomatic, as all the gems from the Blue court, but nop."She sruggered, not giving too much importance.</p><p>Tired of dealing with his glitches, he accepted.</p><p>She began to look over all his form, lifting his arm, poking his face and glaring at his gem for a long time. She then got up, and looked at him with a expression that looked so weird on someone that was always smiling. A expression of worry.</p><p>"It's... such a uncommon type of deffect. I-I like to call it 'pixlexia" She rubbed the back of her neck. "You usualy only see this on broken gems... but you don't have any apparent disruption, so I believe it's something internal... something that caused a impact so hard on your mind and heart that reflected on your shape. Like... how do you call her... right, Voleyball." </p><p>"Hm." He tilted his head. Finaly he got on somewhere. "And... there's some cure?"</p><p>Her look answred him before she even opened her mouth. " I fear not.... guess that only time can heal something like this, but it's hard to tell how much time- I'm... I'm sorry."</p><p>Pink looked down silently. Well, it was good that now he knew what was happening to him, but it felt like a carrossel to find his cure. Riding a lifeless, impaled horse until get on the same place. Even is majority of his being insisted to don't feel anything about him, he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth to Steven. It would break his heart.</p><p>He got up, took a coat, and came out for a night walk, not noticing that the door of the room he shared with the human wasn't as closed as he thought, a little gap where someone could peek on it...</p>
<hr/><p>The lonely Diamond walked alone on the silent streets, the wind blowing on his rose hair as he wished he could bury his hands further on his coat's pockets. </p><p>Trauma. So that was been the problem for so long. Well, it sucked. He couldn't just get rid of a trauma bathering on healing tears or spit. He couldn't ask Yellow to change his form, or White to seek into his mind, or even Blue to fill his lungs with false hapiness. It was a scar that would remain on his heart and brain for a long, long time, maybe forever, considering the marks a troubled childreenhood and a even more complicated adolescence like his would give. It would hurt both on him and Steven. The only solution he found was to fuse, because the glitches didn't seem to appear when they were together and he felt complete. But now, that he couldn't feel anything for the human, a fusion could result on a almagamation almost as dissastrous as Malachite. The best he did was garantee that the human didn't die, that's all.</p><p>He started to hear footsteps. He didn't got worried about it, it was probably the excentric mayor wandering around, looking for new trepassegers. As he walked towards a abandoned building (that the vilagers garanted that was haunted), he started to hear other sounds... sounds that didn't fail to startle him. Right in the moment he thought about going back, a scream sounded in the dark.</p><p>"Pink, DUCK!" Before he could look for the duck, behind him, there was a sound of something beating into other thing, then human groans and beast howls. He looked back to the scene of Steven tackling down a enormous bear-monster, not letting go even with the creature scratching his skin to the point of bleeding as a attempt to get free.</p><p>At the time Pink finale came back to his senses and managed to poof the corrupted, the human was already seriously injuried. His clothes were ragged, stained with blood, and several cuts covered his body. The fight, added to the already weak state he got when separated, made him so exhausted that he barely could keep his eyes open.</p><p>"What are you doing here? And why you..." Indiference and worry fought inside Pink, cold and warm arguing to take over control, to ignore of to help, to preserve himself or feel the other's pain. The result? He couldn't move.</p><p>"I-I... I heard your conversation with Goldie..." The boy panted, forcing a smile althrough the pain. "I c-came t-to say th-that... it's o-okay! We... we can g-get over th-this together... and... I'll stay by your side... e-even if you hate me! After all, you did it for me once, didn't you? E-except... maybe I wont be... able... to..... P-Pink..." He started to cough, blood coming out as he tried to fight over his hurt body, craving for just one hug, one touch, one smile. Defeated, his backs hit back the ground and the world began to turn black. But he needed to stay awake, just for one last phrase. A phrase that he needed to say for a long time. "F-forgive me, Pink... I-I... I l-lo-ve y-"</p><p>His eyes closed, and his voice died.</p><p>The Diamond final got to move, as he knelt immediately and laid his head on the human's chest. Thanks the stars, there was still heartbeats, and his breath was still there, but weak. As shock and guilt washed his being like a torrential rain, he sank his head further on the boy's torso, shivering. "What have I done...?" He asked to the winds, not louder than a whisper.  Maybe if he didn't have argued with the human, he wouldn't folow him to try to make it up, and he wouldn't...</p><p>He was so absorved in his self-hate, trying to force himself to cry, even if his body refused, that he didn't heard the noises of something with lots of legs aproaching from him... the sound of a portal and a beast... but there was a sound that couldn't pass unheard.</p><p>"GUYS, WATCH OUT!!"</p><p>He was begining to wish he had eyes on his backs.</p><p>He turned back and...</p><p>"C-Connie?" He asked in shock.</p><p>She wasn't looking at him, despite she seemed to be aware of Steven's state and be worried about it. As she closed her coat to protect herself from the cold wind, she and Lion where facing a horde of white scorpion-woman, her sword in hands, ready to defend her friends. "I came to check on you to and fix things, but guess it was more serious than I thought." She panted. "I'll explain the details later, now we need to fight, right?"</p><p>"Right." He said, finally managing to get up.</p><p>The scorpion monsters made strange sounds from the deep of their throats. " .EDAFGNIEBRUOYLLALITNULUOSRUOYEMUSNOC, DNIMRUOYKAERBSUTEL, GNITSSUTEL " It was like a music, like a deffective record. Judging by what he knew about gem types, they were Howlites. How he knew it, he didn't have sure. Was like something he should know.</p><p>The creatures advanced as the girl cut through them and the Diamond smashed them with his barriers, making what they could to don't hurt them. Lion jumped on them and tore off their stingers. It seemed like his number-one priority. But no matter how much they poofed, there was always more to come.</p><p>"Kya bakavaas hai." He heard her mutter. "Ham marane já rahe hain!" </p><p>"Chinta na karen, mere paas sab kuchh niyantran mein hai." He assured, cutting one of them that was crawling dangerously near to Steven's uncounsious body.</p><p>"Wait, you can talk Hindi?"</p><p>"Gems are programated to understand and absorb any type of language."</p><p>"Ah."</p><p>"!!!GNITSSUTEL" One of the monsters screeched, hiting the glowing being dangerously near to his gem. He screamed in agony as the pain was stronger than a billion snakes biting in the same place, but when Connie tried to help, he waved his hand like everything was okay.</p><p>The battle was hard, and hope was slidling quickly from their fingers. The sword was a blur and the barriers got stronger and stronger, and after what seemed like an eternity, at least the last of them got poofed, bubbled and send away.</p><p>Pink was about to check if the sting was too bad, when the girl launched herself on his arms. He allowed himself to chuckle a little.</p><p>"We did it." He smiled, expecting her to cheer as well.</p><p>But she didn't.</p><p>Alarmed by it, he pulled out of their embrace and, as a matter of instinct, he opened her coat and saw what he didn't want to.</p><p>Her chest... dark ramified lines, just like the Howlites' gems...</p><p>She had been stung.</p><p>Her general appearance wasn't any better. Her skin was cold and pale, gaining a sick light under the moon. Her hair had lost all it's shine and her frame seemed so fragile that just one touch could break her like glass. She was barely breathing and her pulse was weak.</p><p>He turned his eyes to the fallen boy, whose wounds were getting worse, if that was possible. Humans aren't build to be resistent. They doesn't reform. The doesn't cure themselves after a bad wound. If he didn't acted quickly, they...</p><p>Not wasting anytime, Pink took the jam-buds on his arms, insisting to carry both despite Lion's protests, and headed back to the cave.</p><p>He could only hope that he made it in time...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And... CLIFFHANGER!! Haha... well, you look at that... heh, heh... *hides in the corner with a amber-made shield and chainsaw  to protect me* S-See you after the break!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Change of Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi there! I finally came back from the dead -I mean- from my break! I probably will be slower because I'm kinda busy, so I apologise for it.<br/>Anyways, enough talking! I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Catty observed the unusual trio and the great pink feline from head to toe, her expression too enigmatic to read.</p><p>After several seconds, maybe even a minute, right when Pink was considering the idea of knocking the cat gem out like a rhino and enter the cave anyways, she sighed and said: </p><p>"No wonder Goldie was fussing so much." She offered to carry one of the humans but Pink refused and hurried to the shared room, placing each of them on one bed. The duo of gems tried to help but he inssisted to do it alone. He wasn't comfortable with any other gem getting near of them on a so fragile state.</p><p>Steven was easy to heal. Just a bit of healing tears and his wounds dissapeared. However, Pink needed to use Rose's tears instead of his own. His body was refusing to cry, no matter how much he tried. He even tried to use his spit, but... It was... Coming out... Dark. And it ... Burned Steven's skin when he tried. Since it was probably a side effect from the glitches (it had happened on his second monster form) he didn't gave much importance. He was still uncouncious, but since he seemed to not feel any pain anymore, Pink decided to let him sleep.</p><p>Connie, on the other hand, was begining to worry him. She wasn't reacting at all, and the black marks didn't come out with Rose's tears. Her condition was as bad as when he brought her in, maybe even worse. At this point, he was afraid that she wouldn't make it out alive.</p><p>He looked from one human to another. Steven always had been his major prioriority. Regardless of anything, of anyone. But he could see Connie's condition was much worse, and the fact the he couldn't feel her pain as he could feel Steven's, he couldn't say if she was suffering.</p><p>He found himself driven to give more attention to her. This made him wonder something he was afraid to think too much.</p><p>If he wasn't gliching, would he see something else than his own human half? Would he let her alone for the sake of his main directive?</p><p>Pink stroked the girl's hair softly, refusing to think about it any longer. Steven would be fine, once he woke up. Now he needed to take care of Connie.</p><p>After some minutes, he decided that maybe a cup of water would be good for her, since her lips seemed so dry. Walking to Goldie's experiences lab, also knowed as "the kitchen", he could observe that the two other residents were playing some multiplayer game, and whatever it was, it made them screech of anger several times. </p><p>"Hello, Pink! We're playing the game of the two dish brothers that made a pact with a demon!" Said Goldie, holding Catty's hands so she didn't throw the controler on the wall. "I'm playing with the cuter, big-nosed blue one! But is really hard! We died... How time is it, Cat?"</p><p>"127 times." The feline gem growled, trying to relief her anger by petting the napping Lion on the carpet.</p><p>"Yea, 127! Want to play?"</p><p>Pink only shook his head negatively. The scene reminded him of the time when he and Steven played the game of the green plumber that had to explore a haunted hotel to save his friends. He played as the green, silent, barely reactive goo copy, whom he indentifed himself with, for some weird reason. Steven always clinged on him when something scary happened on the screen, what a crybaby. He wanted to be so close to the human again.</p><p>With the cup of water in hands, Pink entered again on the dark room, only lit up by a faint lamp. The first thing he saw was Connie, sitting in the side of her bed, like nothing had happened.</p><p>Surprised, but also reliefed, the Diamond came closer to the girl. "I see that you are feeling bet-"</p><p>Before he could end his sentence, the sword fighter kicked his chest, sending him backwards and making him let go of the cup, that shatered on the ground. Scared and confused, he looked at her face, at her eyes, that now were glowing on a weird maner. With a voice that seemed at the same time distorted and normal, as if two people talked together, she pointed at the broken glass and said, coldly:</p><p>"You're the next."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know, it's short, sorry!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Frienemies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pink looked at the girl, a glint of worry and confusion marked on his neutralness. He didn't had time to question what had happened as he had to handle an attack that he barely managed to dogde. More and more he found himself patheticaly avoiding the blows as the sword dandlced in the air, and it was clear that shattering awaited him if he got pooffed.</p><p>If his opponent was a gem, it would be easy breasy to take care of it. Just a shout, a shield, anything, and the sittuation would be under control. But humans much more delicate. For the most he hated to compare himself with hia mother, Pink didn't want to see a human suffer. Least of all <em>that</em> human.</p><p>"Connie, what had got into you?" He finaly found a space on his imaginary lungs to ask, unfortunely, without a answer. All that came out of the girl's mouth was some type of gibberish on other language, resembling Gem dialects on a eerie way, but yet Pink couldn't figure out what that meant. But what worried him the most were her eyes, glowing on a white light, almost like she was being controled by White Diamond, yet not so strong. The conclusion was that it had something with the sting she recieved, but it only let thing worse. How did gem powers work like that on a human?! The only person he knew that could do that was, well, him, because he was half human!  What in the world was happening?!</p><p>His thought got cut out when he slipped on the water he had dropped and the poor Diamond fell on his backs with such a force that if he had a spine, it would be broken. The girl stood in front of him, looking him from above, the sword glimmering on the dim light. His eyes landed, for just a moment, on Steven, still sleeping on the bed. Maybe it hlwas better if he didn't saw it. But now how was he going to survive without him gem side?</p><p>He needed to do something. He needed to stop this... What would Steven do?!</p><p>"T-the sun is bright, our shirts are clean..." He began to sing, hoping that, somehow, a miracle would happen and she would snap out. It didn't seem to be working, tho, and he almost felt like an idiot. "We're sitting up above the sea..."</p><p>"Stop it". She suddenly said, the hand that held the sword trembling as an effort to keep holding it. Pink couldn't believe. It <em>worked?! <strong>It actually worked?!</strong></em></p><p><br/>"Come on and share this jam with me!" He continued, now with a shimmer of hope that he wasn't going to let go. "Peach, plum or strawberry-"</p><p>"Stop!" She kept trembling, one hand posing to attack him but the other holding back, as if she was fighting with herself over something.</p><p>"Any type is fine, you see-"</p><p>"STOP! IT HURTS!!" She cried, leting go of the sword and taking her hands to her head, falling on her knees and letting out whines and whimpers that would make an outside hearer think she was being mercilessly tortured and mutilated. </p><p>Pink got scared at it, at first thinking it was something he had done, but soon enough realizing she was talking with... Whoever was controling her. Trying to cling on Steven's compassion, he quickly took her in his arms, whispering words of motivation that his human half used to say on situations like that. </p><p>Connie suddenly paralysed, feeling that warm, strong and yet soft figure embrace her, a sensation that always made her feel so safe and sound. Slowly, her hurried breathing calmed down and the pain deceased, and whatever was making her act like that, suddnly gave up and let her go. At least, for now.</p><p>Feeling that she stopped sobbing, Pink pulled out just enought to look at her face, that now was seeming much more healty. "Are you okay?"</p><p>"I-I don't know." She replied hoarsely, her bones shaking in fear of what could had happened. Pink sighed, not even trying to get some information. It could wait.</p><p>"Let's lay you down, okay? Just try to calm down."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Scorpion's sting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the long hiatus, I've been crazy buzy, but I'll try to finnish it, even if slowly.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pink had gave up of his pride and lone-wolf syndrome and called Catty and Goldie to help. For being used to that region, maybe they could identify the weird black marks better then he could.</p><p>Connie was still on the bed, glupping slowly the water Catty had brought to her. The cat-girl analyzed the marks on the human's chest, with so much attention as a cougar watching it's prey.</p><p>"Chloe, I made you human food!! " Goldie bursted in, carrying a tray of french toasts covered in strawberry "blood", with a plastic fork, a huge kitchen knife and a red-cup-you-see-in-movies filled with apple juice. </p><p>"Thank you, but my name is Connie" The girl answered, a bit uncomfortable.</p><p>"Hmm". Catty finaly said her first sentence in one hour.</p><p>"What does Vonnie have?" Goldie asked, showing that she still din't get it.</p><p>"Tell me..." The cat turned to the diamond, a finger rubbing her chin. "Did her... Get stung by a corrupted Howlite?"</p><p>"Yes" He answered. "Is that bad?"</p><p>"Oh, oh, not at all." She said, laughing nervously. "Just one thing." She asked to Connie, before pulling out of it seemed nowhere a big-ass axe, holding it above her head and aiming on Connie's neck. " Just stay still for a while and it'll be over soon."</p><p>Pink (using something that the duo of gems didn't seem to have, called "Common Sense") ripped the axe out of Catty's hand. "What do you think you're doing?!" He asked agressively.</p><p>" I'm sorry to say it, but your friend is doomed." Catty said, blankly. " Howlites were used by White Diamond to plant a minor mind-control on the rebels, not as strong as hers, of course. But when the Howlites became corrupted, it made their powers chaotic. It turns the gem into a merciless kilker that will destroy the first person on their sight, human or gem. It haves no cure. The only way to stop them is by poofing, but I've never seen it on a human before. Humans can't be poofed, so we'll have to kill." She took the axe again.</p><p>"But if you never seen it before, how do you know it haves no cure for humans?" Pink asked, trying to keep his voice neutral as always.</p><p>"Oh, puh-lease! Do you really think a gem bio-weapon can be cured by simply snapping your fingers?" She mocked, snapping her fingers to prove her words.</p><p>" Hey, look! Clara is cured!" Goldie chirped, pointing to Connie's chest, now clear of any mark.</p><p>Catty's chin dropped and she looked at her fingers with utmost shock. "What the fu-"</p><p>"Connie, are you feeling better?" Pink asked, stroking her hair gently.</p><p>"I-I am." She said, and her look was more healty, too. Almost like nothing had happened.</p><p>"The effect must be weaker on humans!" Goldie concluded, while Catty still looked at her fingers like they had magical powers.</p><p>"J-just one thing, Pink." The girl said, turning to him.</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>She thought careffuly on her words, then asked, slowly. " H-haven't you been stung too?</p><p>Goldie and Catty' eyes snapped wide open as they looked at the diamond, whose, almost like the girl's words had pulled a trigger, lost his conciousness and fell on the floor.</p><p>"Pink!" Connie had attempted to help him, but got blocked by Catty's arm while Goldie scooped closer to her friend with caution, her cheerful mood being replaced by deep fear.</p><p>Pink suddenly rose up again' his eyes glowing and a killer expression on his face. On the exact second he got up, Catty and Goldie made a super-fast fusion dance and formed Cat's Eye Moonstone once again, her puns and jokes forgotten by the fact that there was no way a fusion of a entretainer and a deffective could win a fight against one of the most powerfull diamonds. The best they could do was to keep the human safe and pray some miracle happened. Maybe they could take him out of the house or-</p><p>But before they could come to a plan, or Pink could have the chance to act, he exploded on pink smoke and his gem fell, being caught just in time by no one less than Steven, with the kitchen knife on his hand.</p><p>"I take care of him for now on." He said, smiling sweetly.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, I changed the tittle  because the later wasn't pleasing me much...</p></blockquote></div></div>
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